Father Sanjai Devis, VITALity’s Director of Stephen Ministry and Hospital Chaplaincy connects with seniors through a webinar presentation on “Coping through COVID-19.”
Recently, VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services unveiled exclusively for their “Life to the Fullest” members a webinar series entitled “The Effects of Coronavirus on Health and Well-Being.” The series consists of three presentations over the months of September, October and November.
This new innovative way of connecting with its membership has been a lifeline to its seniors, VITALity employees say. And while the technology can be a bit challenging, interacting with the presenter and other seniors is a good way to engage and stay mentally active.
Even before COVID-19, older adults were vulnerable to isolation and loneliness. For seniors, staying socially distanced results in feeling isolated. And while it is necessary to take precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the impact social distancing can have on the mental well-being of seniors can be significant.
Feeling isolated can impact seniors by affecting their mental health, raising their level of anxiety and bringing on feelings of hopelessness and depression. Many miss socializing with friends and family and just having the physical presence of others around them. In addition, due to the current restrictions of the pandemic, the diocesan parish senior day centers and parish senior social clubs remain closed.
In short, the senior population is suffering and VITALity workers are exploring creative ways to keep them connected and engaged with their parish community.
On Sept. 30, VITALity hosted the first of three webinar presentations in its series. The topic was “Coping through COVID-19.” Over 25 attendees signed onto the Zoom presentation.
The presenters were Mimi Schaible, VITALity’s Director of Care Coordination, and Father Sanjai Devis, VITALity’s Director of Stephen Ministry and Hospital Chaplaincy at the Diocese of Camden.
Anne Marie Pirillo, manager of Parish Based Senior Programs, hosted the event and commented, “The seniors love connecting on Zoom and feel a sense of accomplishment that they are actually using the technology.”
She added, “We had a 99-year-old woman from the Pine Hill area sign up for the webinar series. What a blessing to have her join us!”
Ginny Licata, a participant of the Webinar shared, “Thank you for the well-organized and informational presentation. I enjoyed being a part of the discussion and look forward to the next one.”
Future presentations will be held on Oct. 17, and Nov. 18, covering the topics “Life Is Not All About COVID-19” and “Hopeful and Healthy Holidays,” respectively.
If you missed the first one, you can go to the VITALity website at 0511f90e42.nxcli.io and view it from the home page or go to the VITALity Facebook page where it has been posted.
There’s still time to register for the next two presentations. For registration or membership information, contact Anne Marie Pirillo at 856-583-6121 or email to: annemarie.pirillo@camdendiocese.org.
